Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum

Historie

Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum is an industrial museum located at Rjukan in Tinn, Norway. Located in the Vemork power station, it was established in 1988 to allow the preservation of industrial society created by Norsk Hydro when they established themselves in Rjukan in 1907.PremiseThe research and exhibitions of the museum span the history of power-intensive industry in Norway after 1900; including hydroelectricity, electrochemical industry and the premise for the workers. In particular local heritage from Tinn and the Norwegian heavy water sabotage are given high priority.HistoryThe foundation running the museum was established on November 3, 1983 by the municipality, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate and the labour unions Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, Norwegian Workers Education Association, Norwegian Union of Chemical Industry Workers and EL & IT Forbundet. Later this was supplemented by the United Federation of Trade Unions, Statkraft and Statnett, but the latter two have since left. The museum moved into the Vemork power station, since Norsk Hydro had abandoned the hydrogen plant in 1971—and the first plant in the world to mass-produce heavy water. The first curator was hired in 1984, followed by two more employees in 1985. This phase of the establishing had a widespread goal, attempting to preserve both pre- and post-industrial heritage from Rjukan, including the establishment of Tinn Museum, a heritage village dedicated to the preindustrial society, in 1984. The permanent exhibition at Vemork was opened on June 20, 1988.